How Do You Select Your Outplacement Service?

There are many different ways of providing Outplacement, all of which offer a different selection of services delivered in a variety of ways. That means selecting an Outplacement service isn’t necessarily straightforward. There’s a lot to think about, from what services you want to provide for your staff to the way in which those services are delivered. You will also need to consider whether you want to use remote or local services and whether you want to offer different services to executives than middle managers and general staff.

Of course, you want to be assured that the Outplacement services you offer are capable of delivering the results your staff need, so you’ll also need to get an idea of how successful a company is in getting staff into new roles following redundancy.

Decide what Outplacement services you want to provide

First of all, you need to be clear about what support, guidance and resources you want your staff to be able to access during their job-search e.g. CV reviews and re-writing, interview practice and preparation, support with completing application forms and help with writing covering letters. You’ll also want to ensure they have sufficient career coaching sessions and access to a library of job-search guides.

Decide what is most important for your employees and ensure those services are part of the package being offered. In general, look for Outplacement services that offer the greatest flexibility for your staff and the maximum amount of career coaching time. Choosing a remote service will allow staff to get easy access to the guidance and help they need so they are more likely to achieve their goal of securing an exciting new role quickly.

Who delivers the support?

Find out who is delivering the support. Are the career coaches part of an associate network or do they work directly for the Outplacement provider? Are there any restrictions on the support offered?

How much support is available, when and for how long?

Is the support provided on a re-active or pro-active basis? Do your employees have access to their own dedicated coach whenever they need them or is it limited to a set number of meetings or hours?

Who receives Outplacement support?

Are you only going to use your budget to support those at a senior level or are you planning to spread the budget so you can offer support to all departing employees regardless of function or level? By making the service available to all, you can offer protection to a wider range of employees. By ensuring all departing staff are offered support, you will reduce the risk of repercussions and bad feeling.

Career Consultants believes that everyone in the company can benefit from career coaching and access to the latest job-seeking techniques and tools. That’s why our packages have been priced to make them accessible to staff at all levels.

Do you want to provide face-to-face or remote services?

Face-to-face can look like a good option until you consider the disadvantages to the employee of having to travel to see a coach and can hold up the process as the employee has to wait to get help with an application form, prepare for an interview or check some wording in a letter or email. Remote support delivered on-line or by phone can offer the greatest flexibility and be most efficient.

How much do you want to invest?

Calculating the ROI of Outplacement services is almost impossible as the benefits are largely intangible. However, the benefits are definitely there and need to be recognised and valued as part of the process of assigning a budget to Outplacement. It’s worth considering the cost of Outplacement as part of an overall redundancy package and if you plan to relocate staff from one project to another, consider the cost as part of your recruitment budget as well. If you decide to allow staff to buy their own Outplacement packages, consider paying the fee via the company as this will reduce the burden of VAT on the employee and prove that you do care about their future and their continued career success.